Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani ruling party has condemned recent terse criticism of Azerbaijan by Iranian clerics who claimed there is a policy of Islamic phobia and disrespect for the values of Islam in the country.

"Every Azerbaijani decisively condemns any threat from Iran and disrespect for Azerbaijan’s statehood," deputy chairman of Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party (YAP) Ali Ahmadov said on Tuesday. He was speaking after Iran’s holy city of Qom hosted a conference, titled "Support for Islamic awakening and the doomed policy of Islamic phobia in Azerbaijan", which was reportedly joined by students and clerics from several Muslim countries.

Host of the conference, Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir Tahriri, had criticized the Azerbaijani government, calling on the public to express "mass disobedience", and condemned the recent convictions of Azerbaijan Islamic Party leaders and last year’s veil ban introduced in Azerbaijani schools. In a statement, the conference participants demanded release of the Islamic party’s leaders and the believers arrested during the protests over the veil ban in Baku.

Ahmadov said the conduct of such a conference in Iran was "wrong in essence".

"Some views and threats expressed there could also be interpreted as interference with Azerbaijan’s internal affairs, which is unacceptable," he said.

A similar statement was reportedly made by Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi during a sermon at a mosque in Qom last Thursday. He issued a terse warning to Azerbaijani officials, claiming they "should learn a lesson from the developments in the region" and accused the predominantly Shiite Muslim country’s authorities of "taking down mosques and attacking people."